Michael Cash wrote:
> On 4 May 2005 03:27:56 -0700, "etaka" <etaka@yahoo.com> brought down
> from the Mount tablets inscribed:
> 
> 
>>These stories occasionally make national news, I've probably read two
>>in the past month: even tens of millions of yen may be reported placed
>>in people's mailboxes or on their doorsteps in envelopes or by the
>>shopping bags-ful. Alternatively, people find large amounts of cash,
>>once even hundreds of millions of yen in solid gold bullion plus cash,
>>are reported simply lying on the street, miraculously not spirited off
>>by other or previous passersby.
>>
>>Are people this damned careless or forgetful in Japan? ...
>>
>>Any clues?
> 
> 
> Tax evasion?

Another source of this kind of thing is when people have to abandon the 
treasure while fleeing the crime. No Westlaw access for me anymore, so 
no references, but I remember some of the precedent-setting cases of 
ownership of abandoned property involving things like 70-year-old money 
being found under under the carpet in a hotel.

Still, my first reaction when I see something like this is "fraud", and 
that is probably the correct answer 99% of the time. It's stolen from 
someone that can't or won't report it, and then "found" to explain the 
new owner's possession.

KWW